Military Awards from the Collection of John Tamplin

A Crimean War Al Valore Militare awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel H. J. Thomas, Royal Artillery, for services at the siege of Sebastopol

Al Valore Militare, Spedizione D’Oriente 1855-1856 (Lt. Coll. Henry John Thomas, Rl. Arty.) fitted with silvered ribbon buckle, good very fine £600-800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Military Awards from the Collection of John Tamplin.

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Henry John Thomas was born in 1817, and was appointed a Gentleman Cadet on 9 August 1831. He was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant on 18 December 1835, and served at the Cape of Good Hope 1837-39. Promoted to First Lieutenant on 1 February 1838, he served at Corfu from March to November 1843, was promoted to 2nd Captain in April 1846 and to Captain on 11 November 1851. He served as a Captain during the Crimean war of 1854-56, gaining for him the Crimean medal with clasp for Sebastopol, the Sardinian and Turkish medals, the 5th Class of the Medjidie, and promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel on 23 February 1856. After visiting Malta and Constantinople he was stationed at various camps in Turkey and the Crimea and, when seriously ill, spent the autumn of 1854 in the Hospital at Scutari. From December 1854 onwards, during the siege of Sebastopol, he served with the artillery at Balaklava. Placed on half-pay on 15 September 1857, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas retired by the sale of his commission on 10 June 1862.

An interesting series of letters written home by this officer to his mother whilst stationed at the Cape of Good Hope and during the Crimean war was sold by Sotheby in June 1982. The catalogue provides some interesting excerpts of his experiences in the Crimea.